Sleep Deprivation Plus Anxiety Equals A Bad Time
by Taealdi
Summary: Takes place in MyStreet Season 5 Episodes 34 & 35. Zane had been sleep deprived all day, but it seems to not be an issue anymore after Garroth is injured. But, what if it wasn't? This is a little exploration of what might have been happening behind the scenes. While everyone is focused on Garroth, Zane is starting to have some medical problems of his own. Kawaii-chan helps him.


_Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters. All credit for that goes to Aphmau / Jessica Bravura._

_Additional Disclaimer: I tried to research as much as I could about the various medical events in this story, but alas I am not a doctor. My apologies for any inaccuracies._

_Enjoy!_

* * *

Nana was worried.

It didn't occur very often, but seemed to hit particularly hard when it did. And right now, all of her Meif'wa senses were telling her Zane was not okay. He hadn't slept well the night before, had been nodding off all day. Even by the time they were heading to dinner, he still hadn't gotten any real rest aside from the few seconds he kept grabbing as he fell asleep in his chair or even while standing with everyone.

Then...the "incident" happened. And suddenly Zane was awake, wide awake and terrified. Standing pressed against his side, Nana could feel how his heartbeat remained elevated, spiking whenever Garroth cried out in pain. Eventually, they were shooed out of the way by the werewolves. Although Nana was still concerned about Garroth, she was relieved to get Zane away from his brother for a while. She had felt Zane's heart give several worrying skips for the past hour, an indication his sleep deprivation was catching up with him despite the surge of adrenaline since Garroth's injury.

"Zane, come sit down," Nana cooed softly, gently putting her hand on his arm. If she could just lead him to the sofa, get him off his feet, then his exhaustion would take over and he could finally get some real sleep.

"Nana, I can't," he muttered tiredly, staring at the spot they had just been ushered from. "Garroth's in pain. I can't..." Zane trailed off, staring off into the middle distance.

"Zane?" Nana was getting worried. He was definitely exhausted, but refused to do anything about it. She was at a loss. Tentatively, she pulled lightly at his sleeve. "Zane? Can you hear me?"

Zane shook himself slightly, his breathing a little off. "Yeah," he rasped quietly, pulling himself up straighter even as he wobbled from the light tug Nana had given his shirt. "I hear you, Nana." He blinked several times, then slowly turned to face her. The bags under his eye were even more pronounced than before, but he was focused on her face. "Where...did you want to sit...again?"

Nana frowned slightly: Zane really needed to rest. Every minute he spent awake now, he was just hurting himself. Garroth was getting the best help possible, there was nothing more he could do...but Zane wasn't willing to give up on his brother. Not after everything they had gone through at the lodge.

"Just down to the main house," she said softly, realizing he might not be physically capable of walking the short flight of stairs to the next level. She would have been happy to let him sit on the couch directly downstairs, but knew all the people coming and going would not allow him to relax enough. He needed to get away from his brother's bed and rest, removed from all the commotion. "Do you think you can make it?"

He nodded, too slowly. "Yeah...yeah, I think I can. If I take it slow..."

Nana nodded back. "I'll help you," she whispered, taking a firmer hold of his arm. The last thing anyone needed was for Zane to hurt himself falling down the stairs.

* * *

The trip down was long, but thankfully uneventful. Nana helped Zane navigate each one, catching him several times when his sleep-deprived mind misjudged a step and almost sent him tumbling. She was surprised to see Aphmau at the bottom when they finally made it. Zane tripped a bit on the last step, but his best friend was there to catch him.

"Hey, easy now," Aphmau whispered softly, holding Zane for a considerable bit longer than it should have taken for him to regain his footing. "I've got you."

"Aph..." Zane muttered weakly, leaning on her harder than he usually would have been comfortable with. "What...are..."

"I'm here to help," she answered softly, supporting his weight despite her considerably smaller size. "Just let me know what I can do."

"Zane needs to sleep," Nana said softly, coming down the last few steps to stand by his side. She carefully put his left arm over her shoulder. "He's going to pass out if he doesn't get some rest."

"I understand," Aphmau answered, mirroring Nana's actions and draping his right arm over her own shoulder. "Zane, you need to come lay down."

"But...Garroth..." he whispered, pleading with her. "...he needs...me..."

"He _needs_ you rested and healthy. Garroth wouldn't want you to get sick because you weren't taking care of yourself, especially if it was because you were worrying about him."

Zane opened his mouth to argue, then sighed deeply. He closed his eye and leaned more heavily on the girls. "...okay..." came his barely audible whisper.

He made it two steps before he lost consciousness.

* * *

"He's so tired," Nana whispered, gently running her hand through Zane's hair. They had managed to get him to the main couch relatively quickly. He was now situated comfortably, a pillow under his head and a light blanket covering his legs.

"I'm surprised he lasted as long as he did," Aphmau agreed. Her eyes trailed sadly over Zane, stopping at his chest. Her eyes narrowed as she watched his breathing. "How long has he been wheezing like that?"

"I didn't notice it until now." Nana worriedly pulled down Zane's mask, bringing her cheek near his mouth. His breath puffed against her skin, but it was accompanied by a definite wheeze.

"Could it just be snoring?"

"No. He doesn't sound like that when he snores. I mean, Garroth snores really loudly, but Zane usually falls asleep first so he doesn't have to deal with it. It might be his asthma acting up again due to how tired he is." Nana's ears twitched. "His heart was beating a little weird earlier, too."

"Does he have a history of arrhythmia? Maybe we could ask his par-"

"No!"

Aphmau jumped at Nana's outburst, then all eyes went to see if Zane would wake up. He didn't even flinch. "No," the Meif'wa repeated in a whisper. "They're already worried enough about Garroth. We can't worry them about Zane as well."

"But we can't ignore this." Aphmau felt Zane's forehead with the back of her hand. "He doesn't have a fever. Could it just be sleep deprivation? I can ask Daniel's mom if she'll come take a look at him. But we can't leave him alone like this."

"I'll stay." Nana knelt on the floor next to the couch, one hand on Zane's chest. "Just...try not too take too long. Please?"

"Of course." Aphmau gave her a small smile. "I'll be back as soon as I can. Let me know right away if anything changes." She gave Zane another concerned look. "I really don't like how he sounds right now." With that, she turned towards the door and was gone.

Nana gently kissed Zane's forehead. With her hand on his chest, she could feel his heartbeat. Always before, when she kissed him, his heart would give a cute little skip before resuming a normal, if accelerated rhythm.

Now, nothing happened. Zane remained unresponsive, his heart giving the same occasional stutter-step beneath her hand it had been doing for the past hour. His breath wheezed against her face without giving the adorable little gasp she had grown accustomed to after grabbing his hand or saying how cute he was.

And that, more than anything, was what made the tears fall. "Please," Nana whispered into his hair, praying to Irene he could somehow hear her. "Rest, but come back to me. Garroth needs you.

"..._I _need you."

* * *

"Aphmau! Aaron! _ANYBODY_?!"

Aphmau had told her to let them know if anything changed.

Well, things had certainly changed...and not for the better.

"_**SOMEBODY HELP ME**_!" Nana didn't recognize her voice, could barely hear anything over the panicked gasps coming from Zane. His chest heaved violently, but did not seem to be drawing in any air. His eyes were wide and unfocused, hands clutching the blanket by his side as he tried desperately to inhale.

"Zane, please..." Nana sobbed, trying to help him sit up. She vaguely remembered it was better to sit up during an asthma attack, although she had no recollection _how_ she knew. Placing her hands behind his shoulders, Nana grunted as she pulled, quickly sliding into the space she created and leaning him against her.

"Na...*_gasp_*...na...*_gasp_*..." Zane somehow managed to squeak out her name even as his body continued to spasm.

"Zane, shut up," Nana growled softly, ripping open the front of his shirt to let him breathe easier. She splayed her hand across his chest, trying to keep him from flailing off the couch. "Just breathe. Help is coming."

"Help is here."

Nana turned to look over her shoulder. Daniel's mom was placing her doctor's bag on the couch as she came around, concern obvious on her features. "How long has he been in crisis?"

"Only a minute or two," Nana replied, doing her best to keep Zane still. "I just got him sitting up."

"Okay." Daniel's mom disentangled her stethoscope from around her shoulders, sliding the earbuds in with practiced ease. "Zane," she placed the head of the stethoscope on his bare chest, "try to take a slow, deep breath for me."

As expected, Zane couldn't, but it did force him to control his breathing a bit. This allowed her to hear his heart, which was hammering sluggishly. "That's odd," she murmured to herself, moving the stethoscope. "His heartbeat is slower than I would have expected, but it's too forceful." She moved the head over to his back, catching the sound of his rattling breaths and more of his unusual heartbeat.

Removing the stethoscope earbuds, Daniel's mom reached into her bag and pulled out a rescue inhaler. "Aaron and Aphmau are bringing some equipment over, but he needs to use this right now." She shook the inhaler, then stepped closer to the two. "Zane?"

Gasping, Zane somehow managed to make eye contact with her. He nodded, indicating he knew what he needed to do. "I know it will be difficult, but do you think you can use this?" Another shaky nod. "Okay, here we go."

A few moments later, Aaron and Aphmau appeared carrying an oxygen tank and an EKG. Daniel's mom was just removing the inhaler from Zane's mouth, her face unreadable. His breathing was still labored, but wasn't as frantic. Whether that was due to the medication or simply knowing his friends were nearby and helping was hard to stay. He didn't seem to be aware of his current position, leaning back against Nana half undressed and her body wrapped protectively around him.

"Place those over here," Daniel's mom ordered softly, indicating the space behind the couch. "Let's get him started on oxygen, then I'll attach the probes." Everyone worked together quickly, Zane's wheezing breaths the only sound aside from the gently clatter of the equipment.

"It's okay," Nana whispered, trying to keep him calm. She couldn't do much pinned beneath him, but she could give him a solid presence to focus on. "Just listen to my voice and try to calm down."

"Na...na," he wheezed softly, trying to turn and see her.

"No, you stay put." She moved one hand up to gently ruffle his hair. "Also...I'm sorry I told you to shut up."

Zane barked out a weak laugh, which turned out to be a mistake. He started coughing roughly, chest convulsing against her hand. "Oh Zane," Nana whispered, tears forming in her eyes. "I'm sorry..."

Daniel's mom appeared then, carefully attaching an oxygen mask to Zane's face. The increased oxygen had an almost immediate effect, quickly calming his cough. He consumed it greedily, his chest hitching as he tried to breathe too deeply too quickly.

"Zane, you need to calm down and take smaller breaths," the werewolf doctor explained softly, taking his face in her hands. "Look at me. Breathe when I do." He tried his best to follow along with her. He didn't quite succeed, but did manage to slow down. "Very good." She turned to the EKG and began to prepare it. "Now...let's see if we can figure out what else is going on."

"Zane?" Nana whispered softly, holding him close. He nodded slightly to indicate he heard her. "Do you think you can sleep?"

She felt him give a tiny chuckle under her hands. "...yeah, actually," he murmured tiredly, barely audible.

Nana smiled, even as a few tears escaped her eyes. "Lean back into me. I'll keep you sitting up so you can breathe easier." The Meif'wa guided him to rest against her, legs splayed out on either side of his body. "Go to sleep. I'll be here when you wake up."

Zane gave an exhausted sigh and closed his eyes, twitching slightly when Daniel's mom began applying the probes of the EKG to his chest. She also placed a pulse oximeter on his right index finger, plugging it into the machine before attaching the wires to the probes. The EKG sprung to life, showing jagged lines as it picked up Zane's heartbeat. The werewolf doctor had silenced the machine before turning it on, so the constant beeping wouldn't keep Zane awake. It also served the purpose of keeping his condition somewhat hidden for the time being.

Aaron and Aphmau came around to look at the monitor. "What's _wrong_ with him?" the latter sobbed softly, taking in all the equipment hooked up to her friend.

"It's too soon to say. Given how quickly he responded to the rescue inhaler, he definitely had an asthma attack. And you said he had asthma as a child, so it might have been brought on by the sleep deprivation." She studied the EKG along with them. "Both of those things can be solved with some proper rest. What worries me is what his heart is doing right now."

Aphmau frowned. "You mean the skips?"

"That's just it: there aren't any now. But his heart is still working too hard. I noticed when I listened earlier it was beating very forcefully, but slow." She inserted the earbuds of the stetheocope into her ears again and placed the bell back on Zane's chest. The same sluggish pounding greeted her ears, actually making the stethoscope head jump a little when she positioned it over his apex. "It might be an anxiety reaction," she continued, removing the earbuds again. "That wouldn't surprise me, after what happened to Garroth. Especially since he saw the whole thing..."

"Is there anything else we can do for him?" Nana asked softly, nuzzling her face into Zane's hair as she held him close. Now that the medical exam was over, her hands had resumed their place around his chest, allowing her to feel for herself how hard his heart was pumping.

"Just let him sleep." Daniel's mom smiled down at the two on the couch. "It's honestly the best thing for him right now. If we're right and this whole thing was just caused by sleep deprivation, then a proper rest should improve his symptoms in a few hours." She gently touched Nana's shoulder. "I'll be nearby. Let me know if he seems to be getting worse."

She nodded at Aaron and Aphmau, then turned and went towards the kitchen.

Nana looked up at them. "You two should go see Garroth. We'll be okay."

Aphmau knelt down and wrapped her arms around both of them, careful not to dislodge any of the wires coming from Zane. "Please," she whispered to Nana, "take care of him. I can't..." she trailed off, a soft sob escaping her throat.

"He'll be alright," the Meif'wa assured her. "Besides...I'm kind of stuck here anyway."

That got a chuckle out of Aphmau, who gently pulled away and wiped at her eyes. "Yeah, that's true." She smiled sadly at her.

Aaron came over, hesitation apparent in his every movement. He wanted to comfort Nana, but he seemed afraid to touch Zane after what happened with Garroth. Instead, he wrapped an arm around Aphmau's shoulder and drew her close.

Nana understood. "Go ahead. We're going to be okay."

He nodded, leading Aphmau towards the stairs .

* * *

Nana finally allowed her face to drop its optimistic smile as Aaron and Aphmau left. She knew everything would be okay, but that didn't mean she wasn't stupidly worried about Zane. The only comfort she had right now was the fact he was actually sleeping this time, rather than the abrupt unconsciousness he experienced after the stairs.

"Don't you _ever _scare me like this again," she whispered into his ear. The scent of his shampoo tickled her nose, honey and (oddly enough) cinnamon greeting her. It reminded her of all the times they baked together in the kitchen, all the times he had smuggled food to her during this trip.

Tears welled up in her eyes, but Nana refused to let them fall. Zane needed her to be strong, to be here when he woke up...which hopefully wouldn't be for a few hours. Instead, she settled herself as comfortably as she could against a corner of the couch, carefully pulling up the discarded blanket from earlier and covering them both.

Nana gently wrapped her arms around Zane's waist, holding his hands in hers. She gave his cheek one last gentle kiss before leaning back and closing her eyes as well. A catnap sounded pretty good right about now...

* * *

_Movement._

Not a lot, but enough to bring Nana back to full wakefulness quickly. She almost jerked out of the dream she'd been having, remembering at the last moment the heavy weight on her chest was Zane. Instead, she carefully opened her eyes to see Daniel's mom had returned, stethoscope once again in hand and pressed against Zane's chest. The look of concentration on her face was worrying, but the Meif'wa didn't interrupt. When the werewolf removed the earbuds, Nana finally voiced her concern. "Is Zane okay?" she whispered, instinctively reaching her hand up to feel his heartbeat for herself.

"He's fine," came the whispered reply, a slight smile visible on her lips. "I was just checking him one more time before removing the probes. His heart rate has been steady for the past two hours." She began carefully disconnecting the wires, having already turned off the EKG. "Looks like it was just an anxiety reaction after all. It probably wouldn't have happened if he wasn't so tired."

Nana let out the breath she didn't know she'd been holding. She could feel Zane's heart beating softly beneath her fingers, the earlier thudding reduced to the gentle pulses she was used to. His chest rose and fell gently as well, no more gasps or wheezes escaping his still-unmasked lips. Glancing out the front doorway, she saw the deepening colors of twilight seeping inside. "How long has he been asleep?"

Daniel's mom quickly finished her work, stepping aside only to hide the extra equipment away in a nearby closet before returning with a glass of water. "About three hours. It took considerable time for Zane's heart rate to stabilize, though I think that was helped by your presence here."

"How's Garroth?"

The werewolf's expression dropped at the question as she set the glass on the nearby table. "There hasn't been any change. He's on some pretty serious painkillers, but he hasn't begun to manifest any changes yet." She sighed tiredly, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "At least we managed to keep Garte and Zianna upstairs with him, so they have no idea about Zane's...episode. We'll have to tell them eventually, but for now we'll let them focus on Garroth."

Nana nodded, gently running one hand through Zane's hair. "Is it okay to wake him up now? He didn't eat very well today because he kept falling asleep."

Daniel's mom returned the nod. "I think that's an excellent idea. Melissa was going to have dinner for everyone up on the roof in about half an hour. That should give you plenty of time to get Zane awake." She gave the Meif'wa a sly wink. "Just be gentle: his body still needs some time to recover."

Nana blushed furiously, a keening whine building in her throat as the doctor tactfully made her escape. She would have continued sulking, but the middle Ro'meave brother chose that moment to groan softly. "Zane?" she whispered, gently giving his chest a little shake. "Are you awake?"

His visible eye opened slowly, squinting against the sunset's light coming through the window. "Nana?" he murmured softly, blinking a few times. "What...happened?"

"You scared the crap out of me, Aphmau, and Aaron!" Nana felt the stress of the past few hours catching up to her as she spoke, tears forming in her eyes. "You almost fell down the stairs, you passed out, you forgot how to breathe properly, and your heart-" She broke off, burying her face in his hair. That was something real. Her hand on his chest, feeling every movement: that was real. She felt the tears falling freely now, but couldn't hold them back. "I thought...I thought you were _dying_..."

Zane carefully turned around to face her, Nana refusing to let her hands leave him for even a millisecond. He held her head gently in both hands. "Nana..." he brought his forehead to rest against hers, holding her close. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to make you worry like that. It's just...after everything that happened with Garroth, I - **GARROTH**!" Nana felt Zane's heart give a terrifying lurch before resuming an increased tempo. "How is he?! How long have I been asleep?! Have there been any changes?! Is he-"

Nana grabbed Zane by the collar of his shirt and pulled him into an embrace, his head against her chest. "He's stable," she sobbed, trying to calm herself down so she could comfort him. "They gave him some strong painkillers, but other than that nothing's different." She stroked his hair, closing her eyes. "Right now, you need to calm down. Your heart's doing that scary thing again, and I really don't like it. Just...listen to mine for a while. See if it helps."

Zane forced himself to close his eyes. He became aware of how erratic his heartbeat was, how much each thud rattled thickly in his chest. He carefully took a deep breath, focusing on the soft patters he heard coming from Nana. Her pulse fluttered against his cheek, soft and soothing. He could get lost in this sound...

"Zane, you need to breathe."

But he didn't want to. The sound of his breathing would drown her out, and he didn't want to miss a single one. He felt himself becoming light-headed as her heartbeat filled his head, bringing his own pulse back under control.

"Zane, breathe. Right now."

His body finally sucked in a breath, too quickly. He started coughing roughly, sitting up as he covered his mouth with his hand.

"Zane!"

"I'm...okay," he managed to gasp out. "Just...did something stupid..."

"You can say that again! Here, drink this." Nana held out the glass of water, steadying it so he could take a few sips. "Look, I know you're still really tired, but there's dinner up on the roof in a couple minutes. I think we should go, get some food and maybe have a little fun with everyone. Then you can go right to bed and get some proper sleep. Does that...sound okay?"

Zane nodded slowly, then looked down. "Um, Nana? What happened to my shirt? And where's my mask?"

* * *

Zane stood next to Nana, his arm slung casually over her shoulder.

Or at least, that's what it would appear to the average observer. Most present at the dinner knew the middle Ro'meave brother wasn't prone to such overt displays of affection in public. Aphmau saw how Zane was allowing more of his weight to rest on the Meif'wa's shoulder, his blinks becoming slower. Nana held onto his wrist, her other hand snaking down around Zane's waist.

"Why don't you take Zane down to bed?" Aphmau asked quietly. "I think the conversation is about tapped out, and you know how much he hates small talk."

Nana nodded, shaking Zane a little bit. "That sounds like a good idea. Doesn't it, Zane?"

It took him a moment to process what they were saying, but then he nodded as well. "Yeah. I could sleep for a week at this point." He furrowed his eyebrows. "But...where am I supposed to sleep? Garroth is -"

"You can use Kim and Lucinda's room," Melissa cut in, joining the group. "I think they went off to another section of the park: I haven't seen them all day."

"Thank you, Melissa." Nana tapped Zane's side with her hand. "Well then, let's get you to bed." She waved goodbye with the hand around Zane's waist, leading the man carefully towards the stairs.

* * *

Nana sat on the edge of the couch, waiting for Zane to finish changing in the bathroom. She wasn't sure if it was a good idea to leave him alone right now, but she felt that was more her own anxiety than any real danger. The bathroom door opened, but he didn't emerge. "Zane? Is everything okay?" she asked, coming closer.

He was standing at the sink. "Myeah," came a muffled reply. "Jush bruthing ma teef."

Nana let out the breath she didn't know she'd been holding and leaned against the door frame as she waited for him to finish. She noticed his dirty clothes were already in the hamper and chuckled to herself: even exhausted, Zane couldn't stand leaving a mess.

Zane rinsed out his mouth, spitting carefully into the sink. He wiped the last bit of toothpaste from his lips, then hung up the towel and trudged towards the staircase. He took one look at it and sighed tiredly. "Why are there so many stairs in this house?" he murmured, carefully placing his hand on the wall.

"I'll help you," Nana whispered, putting her hand on his back. "Just take it slow: that bed isn't going anywhere."

It seemed to take an agonizingly long time, but Zane managed to successfully ascend. He trudged toward the bed, but stood staring down at it instead of laying down.

Nana approached on his left so he could see her coming. "Zane?" she whispered quietly, reaching out to touch his shoulder. "Are you..." She trailed off as she saw his face. He had fallen asleep standing up again, snoring softly as he wobbled slightly on his feet. Nana giggled softly before shaking him a little more forcefully. "Wakey-wakey, little flaky."

Zane snorted and jerked lightly, his visible eye snapping open before immediately half-closing again. "What? I was finally asleep..."

"But not in bed." She carefully turned him around and helped him sit down on the edge of the mattress. "Trust me, you're close: just lay down and -"

He didn't wait for her to finish, flopping down on his side and snuggling into the pillow. Nana gave a tiny yelp of surprise at the abruptness of it. She was pretty sure he was already asleep, but leaned in closer to make sure.

Definitely asleep. Zane's eyes were closed, his breath puffing up his hair with every tiny little snore. His snoring sounded like cute little wheezes -

_\- his body convulsing under her hands as he tried to breathe, eyes wide and panicked and unfocused -_

Her hand went straight to Zane's chest, pushing him onto his back. He grunted but thankfully didn't wake up. Nana sighed in relief as she felt him breathe, not panicking but peacefully asleep.

She also knew she would never sleep if she wasn't in physical contact with him at all times tonight.

"Sorry, Zane," Nana whispered as she climbed into bed with him. "I know you're not comfortable with this much touching, but there's no way I'm leaving you alone right now." She curled gently into his side, pillowing her head on her left arm. Her right hand rested lightly across his chest.

The Meif'wa closed her eyes, taking in his heartbeat and breathing. After everything that happened today, Nana felt she could sleep for a week as well. Instead, she contented herself with giving Zane a light kiss over his eyebrow. "Goodnight." She knew she'd wake up first in the morning, which would give her plenty of time to check on Garroth and make some pancakes for Derek before Zane even thought about stirring.

It would also save Zane from the embarrassment he was sure to feel about this whole situation. With any luck, he wouldn't remember most of it. But if he did...

...Nana would be there to help.

* * *

_Author's Note: __And there we go!_

_This is my first posted fanfic, so any constructive feedback would be greatly appreciated._

_Thank you for taking the time to read it._


End file.
